Smart Therapy

17/12/2022

▪️SPORTS MASSAGE▪️

Are you looking for a therapist with years of experience, who specialises in providing effective treatment for every sports injury, as well as back pain, neck pain, headaches, sciatica, repetitive strain injuries and more!?

Then look no further…

Sports massage is one of the most effective ways to maintain and protect the body from aches, pains and injuries.
It focuses on the soft tissues and is firmer and more targeted than the kind of massage you may get in a spa or beauty treatment centre.

Amateur and professional athletes alike use sports massage to help them recover from injuries or intensive training, reduce pain and prevent further damage - as well as to warm up, cool down or relax before or after exercise.
Sports massage can help even if you don't exercise regularly.

Maybe you’re worried about muscle tension due to stress, desk based work or bad posture.
If so, I am able to tailor therapy to your specific needs.

What are the benefits of sports massage?
In sports massage, qualified therapists use intense massage techniques that often involve quite a fast pace, heavy kneading of the body's soft tissue areas – such as muscles, tendons and fascia and some specific techniques such as active release and trigger point therapy.

4 reasons you should try a sports massage:

1. To reduce pain
Pain can affect any part of the body. A bad back is one of the most common complaints.
Tight and damaged muscles are painful and really benefit from being released. Those tense muscles also hold on to waste products such as lactic acid, so a deep tissue massage will help get the fluids and nutrients flowing and will help the body to release its own natural endorphins.

2. To relieve tension and stiffness
Deep massage combats tension and stiffness by warming and stretching the tissues and increasing blood flow to the muscles. This helps the muscles to move more easily and flexibly.

3. To prevent 'delayed onset muscle soreness'
Sometimes called “muscle fever”, DOMS is the painful, stiff feeling that usually comes on after exercise that was particularly strenuous or unfamiliar to your body. It appears hours - or even days - later. A sports massage will help to ward off DOMS before the tension and discomfort kicks in.

4. For the feel good factor
Athleticism isn't all about physical strength. Most of us will know how great it feels to have even a simple, relaxing back massage. An intensive, targeted sports massage has many positive effects on your psychological wellbeing, which helps improve performance and recovery. The specialist techniques will encourage the body to release its own mood-enhancing chemicals, dopamine and serotonin. This helps to increase calmness and focus - and to reduce anxiety.

As always, if you have any queries regarding any of the treatments I offer, or you wish to get yourself booked in, please contact me on 07739 849555.

Andy

28/01/2022

▪️KINESIOLOGY TAPING▪️

Ever wondered what those strips of colorful tape splayed in patterns across the shoulders, knees, backs, and abs are?

Those strips are a therapeutic tape more commonly known as K Tape - which can be applied strategically to the the body in order to achieve the following:

* Reduce pain
* Drain swelling
* Improve posture
* Improve function
* Facilitate early return to activity or sport
* Improve sporting performance.

The Kinesiology taping method is based on the science of maintaining support to the body while allowing blood and other bodily fluids to move freely through and around the injured muscle.
The tape stabilizes the injured area by lightly adhering to the skin and applying pressure to the tissues the tape is wrapped around - and allows the connective tissue surrounding the affected muscle or tendon to move along with the body.
It gently allows the free flow of blood and lymphatic fluid to cleanse and heal the inflammation without the use of medications or surgery.
This special tape helps to improve circulation, support muscles, allow the internal injury to heal, and help prevent further muscle injury while still allowing motion.

I regularly use K taping as an adjunct to other treatments to assist in recovery or rehabilitation.
If you have any queries regarding its application or benefits - or if you would like to make a booking, please feel free to contact me to discuss.

Andy

20/01/2022

▪️ACUPUNCTURE▪️

Surprising Benefits of Acupuncture…

Many of you will know or may have heard about the amazing effects of acupuncture when it comes to chronic pain reduction and the improvement of life quality with various musculoskeletal disorders.

This ancient healing method has a vast number of other physical, mental, and emotional benefits that not many individuals are familiar with, and I often recommend this treatment to my clients as an alternative to my other therapies.

Some of the benefits of acupuncture are as follows:

▪️Mood Enhancement
Whether chronic stress, general life worries, or imbalanced hormonal causes are behind your fluctuating mood and possible depression, acupuncture can offer significant relief.
During and after the application of acupuncture needles, your central nervous system becomes stimulated and releases endorphins and other chemicals that lift your mood. The process helps you to think more positively and support your body to fight off the damaging effects of the state of prolonged anxiety.

▪️Headache Relief
The careful and exact placement of acupuncture needles near specific nerves have a wonderful pain-reductive effect.
The endorphins released also support the feeling of the total loss of discomfort, leading to a breakthrough in your headaches and recurring migraines.

▪️Sleep Quality Improvement
Acupuncture increases your body's natural ability to produce more melatonin. This hormone — when present in optimal amounts, regulates your sleep- wake cycles.
Today, largely thanks to our modern lifestyle and poor sleep habits, it is often underproduced, leading to insomnia, frequent awakenings at night, or being exhausted all the time. If this is ongoing for a prolonged time, it is a breeding ground for other future health problems.
Acupuncture will help restore your natural ability to fall and remain asleep easily, once again.

▪️Immune System Support
Our ways of living challenge the immune system perhaps more than ever before in history. Since the immune system is our first line of bodily defense, its effective and optimal functioning is crucial. Acupuncture not only strengthens the immune system to fight back infections and other harmful threats to the organism, but it speeds up healing time as well. Another function of acupuncture is to balance the immune function that, when overactive, could lead to the development of various autoimmune diseases.

▪️Energy Boost
Whether you are in need of a physical or mental energy boost to combat fatigue, acupuncture can offer tremendous benefits in fighting off exhaustion or brain fog. By thoroughly balancing the body's energetic field, an optimal set-point can be reached and all organs can function correctly. As a result, you can experience a state of ease that allows for better quality of rest and becoming pain-free. Stimulating the appropriate neural pathways leads to increased physical stamina and capacity for clear and productive thinking.

▪️Blood Pressure Control
When applying acupuncture to help healthy heart function and blood flow, this ancient medical practice can nearly outperform many pharmaceutical drugs with many unwanted side effects. With regular treatment, the optimal working of the cardiovascular system can be achieved, which leads to lowered blood pressure, greater heart muscle effectiveness, and an overall sense of cardiac fitness.

▪️Allergy Reduction
Regular acupuncture sessions are very capable of fighting seasonal and other common types of allergies. Boosting our bodies' natural immunity and self-healing abilities, allergens are less likely to wreak havoc, and the frequency of attacks can be greatly diminished, as well. Acupuncture also treats the symptoms of allergies, such as a runny nose, puffy eyes, or scratchy throat, very effectively and I have personally noted the huge benefits acupuncture has had on my own hay fever!

▪️Digestive Support
By supporting the healthy functioning of the digestive system and its organs, as well as the rebalancing of the potentially faulty energetic fields, acupuncture can treat virtually all problems of the digestive system. Whether it be acute gastrointestinal problems, or severe manifestations of long-term ongoing issues that have not been addressed properly, such as gallstones, Crohn's Disease, or inflammatory bowel disease, acupuncture can help.

▪️Fertility Enhancement
By supporting our reproductive organs and the optimal production of male and female hormones, acupuncture offers a viable alternative to couples who experience difficulties regarding infertility. Acupuncture supports the healthy progression of a pregnancy, and even has the capacity to optimize the child's position in the uterus for a natural and problem-free delivery, thereby preserving the mother's fertility and bodily reproductive health.

As always, if you are interested in, or would like to know more about this treatment, please feel free to contact me to discuss.

Andy

20/01/2022

▪️CUPPING THERAPY ▪️

Have you ever noticed a famous athlete or celebrity sporting large circle-shaped marks on their bodies and wondered, “What is that?!” Those discoloration marks are created by an ancient therapy known as “cupping,” a therapeutic treatment which involves warming and placing cups (usually made of glass), on the skin. By warming the air within the cup, a vacuum is created, and when it is applied to the skin, the tissue is drawn up into the cup. This increases the blood flow, loosens the fascia or connective tissue, and is thought to stimulate healing.
It is similar to the way deep tissue massage can be used to break up scar tissue and reduce pain.
The cups are often placed on the back, neck, and shoulders or the site of pain, occasionally causing temporary bruising and soreness depending upon the degree of suction created by the vacuum and the level of internal stagnation.

Cupping can help to relieve aches and pains, muscle tension, stiffness, stress and anxiety and promote better blood circulation amongst many other ailments - and I am able to offer Cupping either individually, or alongside massage therapy.

If you are interested in trying this treatment, or would like to know more, please feel free to contact me to discuss, or to make a booking.

Andy

12/07/2021

Thankyou to those of you who have been trying to make contact over the last week or so.
I am incredibly busy at the moment and will respond in an attempt to get you booked in as quickly as I can.
Andy.

08/04/2021

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) - PLEASE READ❗️

With the further easing of Covid restrictions now confirmed for the 12th of April, all being well, it will be business as usual for me.

I have been taking bookings in readiness, and slots are filling fast, however, as the Government continue to urge caution, I would kindly ask any clients making bookings who are showing signs of any of the listed symptoms (high temperature or a new, continuous cough), to please contact me to postpone or reschedule your appointment as soon as you are able.

I will continue to offer a mobile service across the district while taking the necessary measures in order to ensure optimum hygiene standards, and politely ask that scheduled clients do the same prior to, and after treatments.

I look forward to seeing you all again!

Andrew

04/01/2021

❗️➡️ UPDATE ⬅️❗️

Following the latest Government Guidance, and given the nature of the business which I run, it is with a heavy heart, that I will once again, have to cancel all scheduled bookings until further notice.

I will be in touch to reschedule all booked appointments when the time is right, but in the meantime, and as per the last lockdown, please do feel free to contact me on 07739 849555 or via smartmassage@hotmail.co.uk if you have any questions or require any advice.

I am more than happy to help, in any way that I am able - albeit from afar!

Obviously it’s not the start to 2021 which many had hoped for, however, I do believe that it is necessary in order to get a hold of the situation that’s arisen.
The next month or two will be an incredibly tough time for many, and I will be thinking of you all.

Stay safe, and I shall look forward to seeing you very soon.

Many Thanks

Andrew

18/06/2020

▪️ MASSAGE GUNS AVAILABLE FOR HIRE ▪️

Massage guns are one of the latest innovations made for the process of muscle recovery, and due to their huge success - and growing interest from my clients, I am now offering them out for hire on a weekly basis, enabling clients to perform self massage from the comfort of their own home while we wait for the current pandemic to run its course.

Massage guns are known to offer similar results as a massage of the deep tissue, and use a technique known as 'percussive massage therapy' - meaning that they provide rapid bursts of pressure in concentrated, short-duration pulses deep into the tissues of the body.

Since their invention, they have become a favorite tool for many athletes around the world who are looking to take charge of their muscle recovery process.

BENEFITS OF USING A MASSAGE GUN:

1. Pain relief

Vibrational healing is a method of healing focused on vibrations and subtle energies without any dependency on other healing systems. It is focused on the specific energy field of each individual and is known to be efficient. Interestingly, utilizing the “percussive treatment” method, a relaxation gun offers that same advantage, because it sends sensations deep through the tissue.
The massage movements help increase the flow of blood and lymph throughout the body, thereby helping to generate more oxygen and nutrients in the muscles. This results in quick regeneration, increased motion capacity, pain reduction, and muscle weakness and soreness reduction.

2. Injury prevention

Percussive massage provided by a massage gun helps to improve muscle contraction, which results in muscles and fascial tissues being lengthened and strengthened. A great way to relieve stress is to make massage therapy part of your lifestyle and post-workout routine.
A massage’s primary objective is to help calm the muscles and alleviate stress in the body, which will further reduce the muscle healing period during exercises since harmful material is continuously removed and enable the muscles and bounce back during the shortest possible time.

3. Release of lactic acid

Lactic acid occurs when the body’s oxygen levels are small, and the body continues to make up for it by turning freshly produced lactate into energy. Sometimes that occurs during vigorous activity and the lactic acid continues to build up quicker in the body than it will cookout. This can lead you to feel tired, nauseous, and have muscle cramp feelings.
A massage device can reverse this because it can remove lactic acid and other contaminants from the muscles into tissues around. It should tend to reduce the likelihood of muscle soreness that frequently accompanies sustained exertion due to the deposition of lactic acid.

4. Improves blood flow

Massage guns include stimulation of the deep tissue, which enhances blood flow rate and activates the nerve receptors responsible for dilating blood vessels. Muscle contractions regulate the lymph acts to eliminate waste and contaminants from the body tissues and the discharge; this ensures that less active individuals do not induce enough lymph drainage whereas more active individuals can produce so many.

If you are interested in hiring a massage gun, please feel free to contact me for further information and/or prices.

Look forward to seeing many of you again soon.

Andy
07739 849555

23/03/2020

❗️➡️ UPDATE ⬅️❗️

The health of my clients, myself and my family, is imperative, and due to the nature of the services that I provide, social distancing is not possible.
With that in mind, and following more recent Government updates, it is pertinent that I cancel all scheduled bookings until further notice.

I have spent much of this morning contacting all of my clients, and will be in touch to reschedule booked appointments when the time is right, but in the meantime, please do feel free to contact me on 07739 849555 or via smartmassage@hotmail.co.uk if you have any questions or require any advice.
I am more than happy to help, in any way that I am able - from afar!

I am hoping to take positives from this situation, and will be using the coming weeks to spend some quality time with my children... enjoying the simple things in life, however, I am very aware that this will be an incredibly tough time for many, and will be thinking of you all.

Look forward to seeing you all very soon.

Stay safe...

Many Thanks

Andrew

17/03/2020

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) - PLEASE READ❗️

Although it is currently business as usual for me, in light of the current situation, I would kindly ask any clients who:

- Have recently visited an affected region,

- Have been in close contact with anyone who has visited an affected region, or

- Are showing signs of any of the listed symptoms (high temperature or a new, continuous cough), to

Please contact me to postpone or reschedule your appointment as soon as you are able.

Whilst I currently continue to offer a mobile service across the district, the health of my clients, myself and my family, is imperative.

I shall continue to take the necessary measures in order to ensure optimum hygiene standards, and politely ask that scheduled clients do the same prior to, and after treatments.

For the latest government advice please see the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response

Many Thanks

Andrew

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It’s caused by a virus called coronavirus. Find out how to protect yourself or check if you need medical help on the NHS website Guidance for employers and businesses Number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and risk in ...

24/11/2019

Great for pirifomis release as well.

20/11/2019

INTRODUCING... the next best thing to getting a sports massage...
A sports massage which is offered in combination with the HYPERVOLT!

The Hypervolts built-in pressure sensor technology gives visual feedback throughout the massage process, ensuring your therapeutic sessions are more accurate.

If you are looking for treatment which can help relieve muscle soreness and stiffness, improve range of motion, promote circulation... or accelerate warmup and recovery, then the Hypervolt may well be for you.

For more information, or to book an appointment, use the booking option online, or feel free to contact 07739849555.

https://youtu.be/eI3QbjhGNK0

06/10/2019

Lovely morning down at LED Honiton Leisure Centre with Pure Endurance Triathletes. Come down and support the triathletes. I’ll be doing my best to keep them ache free.

01/12/2018

So... December is now upon us, and Christmas is only a few weeks away.

As it is the season of good will, anyone booking a treatment during the month of December will receive a Smart Fitness loyalty card.

If you book 5 sessions, you will receive the 6th for half of the standard price.

Feel free to contact me for more info, or to book your session...

30/10/2018

Another day spent with Axminster Tools and Machinery helping employees with posture correction and general aches and pains.

If you are interested in booking a massage for yourself, or alternatively for your work place, please feel free to contact us using either of the following options:

smartmassage@hotmail.co.uk
07739849555